This unit teaches vocabulary related to culture and the arts. There is no new grammar taught in this unit, but a few of the words may be worth exploring in greater detail.

meHghem

It's been suggested that there is no single word in Klingon that corresponds to the English word art. …but then again, that is perhaps to be expected, seeing as it can be difficult enough to find two English-speakers who agree entirely on what exactly art is. Are video games art? Is twerking art? Are these Duolingo tips art? I'm not sure the answer is any clearer in Klingon than in English.

The Klingon word meHghem has been variously translated as art, the arts and culture, and encompasses a broad range of creative expression, including the visual arts (such as sculpture and painting) as well as music, drama, poetry, theater and more.

In discussing Earth culture, the phrase meHghem Qat is sometimes used to refer to pop culture.

vIqraq

Although most people will agree that painting is a form of art, many will also argue that not every painting is a work of art. Indeed, no visit to a modern art exhibit would be complete without somebody exclaiming You call this art? My five-year-old could have made this!

The word vIqraq has been variously translated as work of art, artwork, artifact, gizmo, gadget and more, but a more general translation would be something that is manufactured/made.

As such, it could describe a quilt, a machine, a necklace, a flower arrangement, a piece of furniture and much more. It also encompasses any sculpture or painting … as well as any drawing made by the above mentioned five-year-old.

nagh beQ

The phrase nagh beQ is commonly translated as picture or painting. However, broken down, it literally means flat stone. This phrase originally referred to stone panels with engraved pictures on them, but this usage has since been expanded to encompass a much larger range of flat images.

Note that this phrase consists of a noun (nagh) modified by a state-of-being verb (beQ). As such, noun suffixes of Types 1-4 are added to the first word, while the type 5 noun suffixes (-Daq, -vo', -vaD, -mo' and -'e') are added to the second. For example:

naghmey beQ the paintings
nagh beQmo' because of the painting
vIqraqmey bIHba' moHbogh naghmeyvam beQ'e'. These ugly paintings are obviously vIqraqmey.